Testimonials

" I was fortunate enough to be part of The Gargano Leadership Group’s workshop during my time at the New York Jets. Out of all the countless seminars and workshops I’ve participated in throughout my time as an undergrad as well as more recently in my professional career, I was completely amazed at how well-run, organized, informative and engaging each of the sessions was. Chris’ ability to light up a room and capture an audience’s attention is something not many people have the ability to do. Chris kept our group heavily engaged by not only sharing his own life experiences and factual research, but by also allowing each of us to share and analyze our experiences as leaders and future leaders. The topics Chris covered and the analysis he provided have made an immediate positive impact on me and will continue to do so throughout the rest of my professional career. I highly recommend anyone who is looking to grow and better themselves as a leader to connect with Chris! "

"I've been lucky enough to work with Chris for five years and have seen first-hand the way he cares for his colleagues and their development. Most recently, I had the opportunity to participate in a leadership course that he spearheaded. Throughout multiple sessions, I was provided with valuable insight and knowledge on leadership styles and qualities that I can utilize in both my professional and personal life. Chris led a course that was extremely informative and left an impact on myself and my colleagues to further our development and character. His patience, knowledge of the industry and leadership qualities quickly make everyone around him better. Since participating in the course, I continue to find myself in my everyday life referring to certain areas we discussed, which has helped me become better in all of my interactions and create a positive working environment." Thank you!

" I am so honored to have been selected for Gargano's pilot Leadership workshop. Seeing how he carries himself around the office has always been an inspiration and being a part of his group and hearing everyone's stories was a huge help for me. You can tell how passionate Chris is about this and his optimism is truly contagious. I have always struggled really bad with public speaking, and even though I am not fully over that, I am committed to excelling in my new managerial role. I have applied the knowledge I gained from our sessions and am feeling so much more comfortable pushing myself to say what I need to say regardless of how small or large the group of people around me is. Being invited to the group seriously woke something up in me and since we got so many tips on what it takes to be a great leader, I am now consciously applying them on a day-to-day basis to make sure that I lead my employees in the right direction."

"Here are the top three things I learned from Chris Gargano’s workshop series: Leadership Needs to Be Part of the Everyday Job. Leadership is just as important as your day-to-day job, and leaders need to change their mindset to prioritize leadership just as much as their typical job responsibilities. The second point is the importance of one’s demeanor.How you present yourself when walking into the office every day is extremely important for you and the team you are around which essentially exemplifies how once you get into the office, you need to have an upbeat and positive attitude; and that can be infectious to team members. The third is allowing people to fully be present. This gives people the opportunity to express themselves at the start of a meeting to enable them to fully be present for the rest of the meeting."

“Being a part of Chris Gargano’s leadership program was not only incredibly rewarding, but truly transformed the way I think about both my role in the business and about my career as a whole. Chris engages with the group in such a way that makes you want to participate in the workshop and apply the invaluable lessons learned right away. He changed the way I think about my responsibilities, how I approach projects, and how I communicate with others both in and out of the office. I cannot thank him enough for everything I gained from the experience, and I highly recommend him to anyone who wants to become a leader in their field.”

"I was fortunate to have Chris Gargano as my professor while I studied at NYU and was an athlete on their softball team. I frequently found myself applying the values of leadership we were learning in the classroom to my interactions with my teammates on the softball field. Once I graduated, I was even more fortunate to have Gargano as a supervisor at the New York Jets. Here, I was able to see his practices on display – each employee below him felt seen, appreciated, and driven while succeeding in all and additional tasks presented to us. Now, I am grateful to have Gargano as a leadership mentor. Every day there are different ways to apply the traits we speak about. I am confident that if I am managing a team in the future, I have the tools to make them feel seen, appreciated, and driven Gargano has done so many times for me."

"Chris Gargano is a natural born leader. But his leadership style is not only a product of nature but also nurture. His combination of authentic positivity with a myriad of personal and professional life experiences uniquely qualifies him to help any individual or business to find success, on and off “the field.” In a world filled with jaded skeptics, Chris’ approach is as refreshing as it is enlightening. You will walk away from any conversation with Chris in a better mood and equipped with all the necessary tools to navigate everything from corporate to start-up culture. I used to think leadership couldn’t be taught. It was either a skill you possessed or lacked. But after watching Chris put many raw professionals under his wing and efficiently bring out their best has been inspiring.Having worked directly under Chris at the New York Jets and benefitting from his mentorship, I can confidently say he’s a one-of-a-kind person, who has the rare ability to blend data-driven strategy with emotional intelligence and intuition to provide a truly valuable service."

"The workshop is an intensive journey into the pillars of leadership. The word “journey” is particularly appropriate for it is in no way a lecture or a presentation; it is a discussion which, through a blend of theory, case studies, and hypothetical scenarios, explores each participant’s relationship with leadership and with him/herself. In fact, while the workshop covers principles of leadership, crafted originally on the basis of research and experience – and with an eye to the discipline’s ever-evolving nature – its true purpose is that of prompting the participants to relate to those principles, thereby finding themselves, as individuals and as leaders. Would you recommend it to others? I definitely would recommend it to others, but not just to those who are certain they want to become leaders in the future.I would recommend it to those who want to be better leaders today, and to those who might never want to become leaders in their professional life, but who are faced with unwanted albeit inevitable leadership questions in their personal lives (questions related to parenting, personal choices, friendships and/or relationships). All of this to say that this is a workshop for everyone and anyone. Participants of all ages and backgrounds. Attendees with goals ranging from wanting to become the CEO of a successful company, to wanting to become a more empathetic friend or parent. Depending on one’s objective, everyone will get something different out of this workshop, but always something valuable."

"The sessions were the perfect amount of time and that despite being on Zoom, there was a fantastic energy and participation from all members of our group. Chris’ knowledge on leadership was evident through the sharing of his experiences. His encouraging words and comments made it an experience for which everyone wanted to participate. We had leaders from every stage in their careers and the content was relative to the entire group."

"The benefit from attending was much more than I realized I would get out of it. The energy, it was contagious. Also, Chris was engaged, taking notes, and referring back to previous comments we had made and tailoring the presentation around those comments. The way Chris was able to keep everyone engaged and keep the pace moving so the conversation didn’t grow stagnant and turn into off topic conversations. I think the content was very relevant and relatable to me personally."

Professor Gargano has taught leadership courses for the NYU Preston Robert Tisch Institute for Global Sport for over five years as an adjunct professor. In that time, he has been an exceptional educator and mentor to our undergraduate students. While the leadership courses have evolved over the years, Professor Gargano now leads our capstone leadership course, Senior Seminar in Leadership. In this course, he works closely with graduating seniors to define who they are as budding leaders and equip them with the skills and tools to evolve into dynamic leaders with the ability to innovate and transform their future organizations. While Professor Gargano has tremendous expertise in leadership theory and practice, it's his genuine demeanor and sincerity toward students that make him an exceptional instructor. It is no wonder he is one of our students' favorite professors. The Tisch Institute is grateful to have Professor Gargano on the team and could not imagine a better person to develop our future leaders in the field of sport management.

I invited our 8 partners to Chris' leadership event and the response was unbelievably positive. Each one said they walked away with so much more knowledge about their outlook on leadership vs. management. I have noticed they are interacting with their staff in a much more professional and supporting way. "How can I help you and what can I do to make your work-life better" is the message they are all putting out into the work world. I suspect it's also translating to their personal lives as well.
I would highly recommend Chris Gargano's course to any company that wants to improve their leadership and take their company to the next level.

Of all the people I've met in the last 10-20 years, Chris Gargano is truly one of the most genuine, thoughtful people I've ever met. We've had many marathon conversations on leadership, organizational dynamics, and the art of creating effective teams. I always walk away with my mind racing with self-examination and thoughts on how to be better at everything related to my role as a manager.

I heard back from many of the mentors/board members. To say they were beyond excited and blown away to have been a part of this session is minimizing. So, the feedback has been incredible. There were so many nuggets throughout that really resonated and challenged each one of us. The focus on Curiosity, Story Telling & Self-Awareness was powerful especially for these young students. So, I feel it was a huge success! I saw about 5 of the mentors who participated at a brunch this morning and they are still talking about our coaching call and so excited that you have joined us in this journey.

His talk on leadership/grit is incredible. Thank you Chris, for taking time out of your schedule. This meant a lot to us.